Science Olympiad 2006 Results, Feb. 27, 2006

SOCORRO, N.M., Feb. 27, 2006 – Two teams from Albuquerque took home an abundance of Olympic-style medals and won top honors in the high school and middle school divisions at the 20th annual New Mexico Science Olympiad, which was held on Saturday, February 25, on the New Mexico Tech campus.

The Albuquerque Academy, a perennial winner at the statewide academic competition, again took first place overall in the high school division, while newcomer Albuquerque Area Home School, a team comprised of ten home-schooled students, finished first overall in the middle school division.

Socorro High School once again garnered second in the high school division, while the Albuquerque Academy placed second in the middle school division of the state Science Olympiad.

In addition to the first-place trophies and numerous medals the science champions amassed, the two top-placing teams from the Albuquerque area also won rights to represent New Mexico later this year at the National Science Olympiad on May 19-20, at Indiana University at Bloomington.

More than 800 student “intelletes” representing 25 middle schools and 25 high schools from throughout New Mexico gathered on the university campus in Socorro to compete in 45 spirited mental workouts—all of which required massive amounts of brain power, motor skills, teamwork, and imagination . . . not to mention months of planning, practice, and fine-tuning.

During the daylong event, teams of Science Olympians launched rockets propelled by compressed air and water, built Rube Goldberg contraptions, and constructed efficient boomilevers, bridges, and robots in a quest for Olympic-style medals and the chance to represent New Mexico at the national competition.